Optical signals inside a WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplex, wavelength division multiplexing) optical network may be multiplexed, transmitted, amplified, routed, and restored in an optical domain, so that the WDM optical network has become a hot topic for research in the field of optical communications. A WDM optical network may be classified into two types, a Transparent (transparent) optical network and an Opaque (opaque) optical network, according to whether a network element on the WDM optical network is capable of performing electrical processing on an optical signal. On a Transparent optical network, an optical signal always maintains the form of an optical signal in a process of transmission from an ingress network element to an egress network element, and experiences signal regeneration, exchange, and wavelength conversion in the optical domain.
Optical signals of different wavelengths may cause different physical effects to devices such as a fiber and an optical component used on a Transparent optical network. For example, optical signals of different wavelengths may cause different gains of an EDFA (Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier, erbium doped fiber amplifier), and optical signals of different wavelengths may also cause different attenuation of a fiber. Therefore, after optical signals are transmitted on a WDM optical network, performance of optical signals transmitted on different channels is no longer balanced and consequently quality of optical signals received on an egress network element is not ideal. In addition, optical signals of a wavelength newly added on the network or adjustment of the power of optical signals of an existing wavelength on the network may also affect performance of optical signals of other wavelengths on the network, probably causing quality degradation of optical signals of some wavelengths on the network.
For the preceding reason, to ensure quality of optical signals on a network, there must be an appropriate mechanism to properly set and adjust optical parameters on the network.
In the prior art, a feedback-based adjustment manner is applied generally. It is specifically as follows: A performance detecting unit is placed at a receive end or on an intermediate network element to detect optical parameters of optical signals on a network, and a monitoring result of the performance detecting unit is used to guide an adjustable unit to adjust optical parameters of optical signals transmitted on the network accordingly; and generally the adjustment is performed by step, that is, adjustment is performed by a small step each time and the adjustment is completed once or by multiple times. For adjustment by a small step each time, a detection result is acquired by the detecting unit, and it is determined, according to the monitoring result, whether the adjustment is complete or performance degradation occurs, and if the adjustment is incomplete or performance degradation occurs, the adjustment continues till a commissioning goal is accomplished, or commissioning is completed or stopped according to the monitoring result.
However, when the preceding feedback-based adjustment manner is used, an adjustment pace can hardly be determined. If the selected adjustment pace is inappropriate, the adjustment is probably too slow. In this way, optical parameters of optical signals on the network need to be adjusted time and again, and then other optical signals already provisioned on the network may be affected.